Sticks And Stones
Sticks And Stones is the ninth episode of the second season of The Dumping Ground. It was first broadcast on 28/02/2014 at 17:30 on the CBBC Channel and CBBC HD. Plot Bailey tries out for a football team, but will he succeed? Elsewhere, Carmen receives a manicure set. Synopsis Mike finds Bailey sitting on the steps, staring into space, waiting to be taken to his football tryout. He learns that Bailey has not had breakfast and tells him to get some, so that he does not faint on the pitch during his football tryout. In the kitchen, Carmen finds that the raisins have been taken out of the granola (again) and learns that Floss is responsible, annoying Carmen. However, her mood is soon lightened when Mike gives a package addressed to her. Bailey then tries to leave only to be told he has chores - washing up. He refuses, leading to Johnny beginning a shouting match with Bailey. The boys are taken to the office and are told to learn to get along with each other. After they are dismissed, May-Li asks Mike if she can take Bailey instead. It turns out that the Premier League scout is Viv Anderson, of whom May-Li is a fan of. Denied, she instead asks Mike if he can get Viv's autograph. Elsewhere, Carmen reveals to the others what her package was - an expensive nail salon kit, much to the excitement of the girls and the apathy of the boys. May-Li then comes to tell the boys to do their chores. Rick asks what about the girls, only to learn from Faith they did all of theirs yesterday. Mike takes Bailey off to the tryout and the others wish him good luck (except Johnny, who sarcasticaly tells him to break a leg). Bailey arrives at the football ground where the coach welcomes everyone, only for Bailey to rudely ask his coach why he is still talking and starts playing with a ball before Viv has finished speaking. Viv walks up to Bailey and tells him that he needs to learn some respect. Mike walks up to Viv to ask for his autograph, only for Viv to tell Mike that he needs to teach Bailey some respect. Back at the DG, Carmen is doing a manicure to Tee's nails when Floss walks in asking if she can watch. Carmen says that it is up to Tee to decide and Tee says yes. Carmen then tells Floss she can stay as long as she keeps quiet. Elsewhere, Johnny and Rick have been made to clean the bathroom. Johnny starts pondering about his life, noting that while Bailey may be a "gob on wheels", he at least has a goal in his life. Back at the pitch, Bailey has got possession of the ball. One of his team mates and Viv at him to pass it, but Bailey refuses, scores a goal and celebrates on his own, much to the disappointment of the football coach. Back at the DG, Floss starts asking Carmen various questions about the things in Carmen's nail set, annoying Carmen. This reaches a climax when Floss spills some glitter and Carmen tells her to go away. This prompts Floss to steal some of Carmen's nail things, starting a chase around the house. This is ended when Mike catches Floss, who is made to return Carmen's belongings. However, Carmen is still annoyed with Floss, saying that she is acting weird, upsetting Floss. Jody protests that Floss is only "acting", which Carmen retorts that Jody cannot help being "born that way"! After Mike tells everyone to go back to their business, Jody and Tyler decide to come up with a revenge plot. May-Li finds Floss in the garden and asks why she took Carmen's nail things, but Floss has no idea. Back at the football ground, the tables have turned and Bailey's team are now losing. The coach goes to speak to Bailey about this, saying that he is wasting his talkent and that he has seen it happen with his "type". As this is happening, Viv notices the coach go up to Bailey's ear and whisper something. Viv asks a now stunned Bailey if he is alright, to which Bailey gives an unconvincing "yeah". After the game, one of Bailey's mates, annoyed with how Bailey was hogging the ball, says to Bailey that football is a team game and how he should not expect Bailey's "type" to be able to play as team members. This annoys Bailey who starts a fight with the other boy. It is broken up by Viv and the coach, but Bailey is sent home as consequence. In the DG's kitchen, Mike waffles to Rick and Johnny about how to make the perfect mayonaise and mustard combo in a sandwich. The boys are not listening, however; Johnny is asking Rick what he wants from life, to which Rick replies that he tends to "go with the flow". However, he does admit that he wants a girlfriend. Johnny is cool with this, so long as it is not Tee. Mike gives May-Li the sandwich, but she is not interested as she is preoccupied with trying to find more on Floss's background. Mike then receives a phone call to tell him to collect Bailey. Elsewhre, Tyler comes up with the idea to steal Carmen's nail kit and say that they will only return it if Carmen pedicures his feet. Jody, however, is unimpressed. In the kitchen, Floss watches Mo drawing. Mo tells Floss that he is drawing a skyscraper and says that his dad liked them. Floss is surprised that Mo can remember this and decides that she wants to do some drawing herself. She starts drawing a person, which she tells Mo is herself when she is older. Mike returns with Bailey and informs the others that he failed, much to Johnny's glee. Seeing Bailey shrug his shoulders at Johnny's comment (as opposed to mouthing off), Faith enters Bailey's room and asks what happened. She eventually coaxes out that the coach called Bailey a racist term. Faith and Bailey then have a meeting with Mike and May-Li in the office. As this is happening, the kids gather in the kitchen. As the kids are talking, Tee drums her nails on the table, which Jody tells her to stop. Carmen comments about the strength of the nail glue, giving Jody and idea for revenge. In the office, Faith tells the care workers what happened, but Bailey is scared of telling the care workers himself. They are eventually able to coax Bailey into confirming that everything Faith told them is true. Mike leaves to have a word with the coach, but Bailey is afraid of the consequences and tells Faith that regrets telling her what happened. At the football ground, Mike speaks to the coach and tells him off for calling Bailey by a racist term. After the coach leaves to talk to the League, Viv tells Mike that perhaps he was wrong to have judged Bailey the way he did earlier that day. The following day, Carmen strides into the kitchen with her bedsheet stuck to her pyjamas. She accuses Floss of doing it and tears her drawing. Tyler then confesses it was him and Jody. May-Li takes Floss to another room, saying that she will deal with Carmen, Jody and Tyler afterward. In the other room, May-Li tells Floss that when she was 18 months old, her mother abandonned her at a nail salon and thinks this is why Floss is attracted to Carmen's manicure set. Floss is happy to have this explanation and leaves. She then bumps into Carmen, who has taped the picture back together and lets Floss have her nails manicured for free. Faith finds Bailey in the garden, where they agree to keep quiet about the fact Bailey cried as well as the fact Bailey considers Faith a friend. Faith asks Bailey if he fancies a kickabout, only for Bailey to say he is done with football. Viv, having come to the DG, tells Bailey that if he gives up, it means that the bullies have won and that Viv had to put up with bullies during his career. Mike tells Bailey that Viv thinks he deserves another chance and will come to watch him again in a couple of weeks time, much to Bailey's pleasure. May-Li then comes to ask Viv if he would like a cup of tea. Viv agrees and then presents May-Li with a football shirt with his name on it, much to May-Li's pleasure. Bailey tells Mike that he is ready to give football another go and thanks Mike. Bonus Scene Jody (pretending that she's a fashion designer) flaunts a blanket stuck to her pajamas to Tyler's and her own amusement and to Carmen's annoyance. Notes *Johnny's desire to have a direction in life is followed up in the next episode GI Johnny. *Rick's desire of wanting a girlfriend is be followed up in Be My Girl. *Floss's inability to remember her mother's appearance is also followed up in Be My Girl. Trivia *The episode takes its title from the rhyme "Sticks and stones make break my bones, but words will never harm me". The episode, however, shows this to be far from the truth. *Barring footage taken from other television programmes, Viv Anderson is the first real life celebrity to appear in a Tracy Beaker programme. Gallery